“Nta Muka Hi Kwini”

The 2013 Floods and Local Knowledge in the Limpopo-Gaza Valley, Mozambique

Abstract

This paper contributes to understanding the role of local knowledge in shaping how communities along the Limpopo River basin responded to the flooding of 2013 floods. Taking as a point of departure these populations’ active roles, throughout their history, in dealing with the wrath of the Limpopo, the paper argues that they have developed their own adaptation and coping strategies based on their local knowledge for their own benefit. The study is grounded in an epistemological and methodological perspective of strategic engagement and agency, recognizing knowledge producers, attitudes, and practices as “scientists” in their own right, rather than passive observers of floods. It thus assumes that the communities of the Limpopo Valley are protagonists in shaping their ways of living with recurrent inundations. This is a qualitative study based on interviews and field observations, adopting the historical-comparative method.